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Police have released the name of a pilot who died after crashing a helicopter in North Canterbury today.

While formal identification was not yet complete, police said they believed he was David Stanley Jones, aged 48, of Woodend.

The pilot, the sole occupant of the Robinson R22 helicopter, was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance staff.

The crashed happened just before 9.30am today, inland from State Highway 1 near Domett, south of Cheviot.

The helicopter had been spraying in the area.

Senior Sergeant Malcolm Johnston said the helicopter was "totally destroyed".

"It was a high-impact crash," he said.

"The pilot would have been killed instantly."

The helicopter was extensively fire damaged.

Police had set up a base and were waiting for Civil Aviation Authority investigators to arrive.

PREVIOUS HELICOPTER CRASHES

* In May 2012, helicopter pilot Michael Mehrtens died the Hughes 500 helicopter he was flying crashed into deep water near Breaksea Bay on Lake Sumner. The Rangiora man had been spraying gorse when he crashed.

* In April 2011, pilot Adrian James Mayberry, 59, died from injuries sustained after his Robinson R22 helicopter, ZK-IXR, crashed in the Mathias River Valley, near Lake Coleridge. The Christchurch businessman had his son-in-law was on board and he had been attempting to reposition the helicopter for landing.